Facebook to Shut Down its Gift Shop

Facebook has just announced that it’s closing down its virtual gift shop. The move is said to be done to allow the social network to focus on other products. Users won’t be able to buy items from the Facebook Gift Shop after August 1st. Existing gifts will not be affected.

“The Facebook Gift Shop is closing on Aug. 1 as we focus instead on improving other products. As of that date, you will no longer be able to give new gifts from the Gift Shop. The gifts you've already received on your Wall will remain visible, and you still will be able to view your sent and received gifts on your gifts page,” Facebook’s Jared Morgenstern announced.

Facebook’s explanation for the closure seems a bit sketchy. Basically it’s saying that it’s diverting resources to other projects that may get more use, Photos, News Feed, Inbox, the Like button and so on. That’s not particularly surprising, no company would invest in dead-end products, but what is surprising is that the Gift Shop has proven so unpopular that Facebook is forced to close it.

Actually running the Gift Shop involved little investment from Facebook and the items on sale were pure profit for the social network. It may not have been much, but that doesn’t seem to justify closing it altogether. Regardless, that’s what’s happening so Facebook must have considered that closing it down entirely is the smartest option.

The Gift Shop was launched in 2007 and was one of the first avenues of additional revenue for the company. It also gave rise to Facebook Credits, the virtual currency used for purchasing items in the Gift Shop and more recently in third-party apps as well. All the gifts people bought will remain in place and there are still options for sending virtual tokens of appreciation. Facebook even lists a few, Birthday Cards, Hallmark Social Calendar, Pieces of Flair and some ecards.